University of Florida fan Dennis Griffin swallowed his pride and wore a Florida State University shirt after losing a friendly wager.

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A friendly wager between friends resulted in a die-hard fan of the Gators football team from the University of Florida spending a full day wearing a Florida State University shirt this week.

It was during late summer when Justin Morris was on the campus of Lake Placid Christian School to help Headmaster Dennis Griffin with a computer problem. Morris, who describes himself as a big fan of the Seminoles from FSU, is a former student at LPCS and knows Griffin to be a UF alumnus and avid Gator fan.

It didn’t take long before the computer woes were remedied and talk turned to the approach of the 2013 football season. Both men were certain their favorite team would finish the season strong and both believed a late-season game between the Gators and Seminoles would be epic. After all, pre-season rankings placed the Gators in the #9 spot with the Seminoles holding down #11.

Griffin and Morris decided on a friendly wager. If the Gators won, Morris would wear a University of Florida shirt all day at his job at Tony’s Barber Shop. If the Seminoles won, Griffin would don a Florida State University shirt and wear it at school. And to make certain the “shame” was shared, the loser would have to run several errands during the day: grocery shopping, banking, etc.

With the wager set, Griffin and Morris watched the football season unfold as the countdown toward the Nov. 30 match-up between Gators and Seminoles began. When game day arrived, the Gators weren’t ranked anywhere in the top 25; while the Seminoles were on the brink of becoming the #1 team in the nation. What was seen months ago as an epic game between two powerhouse programs became a blow-out with FSU taking a 37-7 win over the Gators.

Morris delivered the FSU shirt just in time for a morning assembly at Lake Placid Christian School. While students cheered and jeered, Griffin donned the FSU shirt. “I wore that darn shirt all day,” he said. “I wore it at school and to run errands. I had it on until about 10 o’clock that night.”

Griffin said he took some teasing from friends. “The lesson here is ‘don’t make a bet you can’t afford to lose’,” he said. “It was all in good fun.”

Morris and Griffin said they are already planning a friendly wager for the start of next year’s football season. “We’ll be back,” Griffin said of his Gators. “Let’s see who wears which shirt next year.”

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We wish you all the joy of the season on this Christmas Day. Remember Luke 2:11 which says, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”